Commando, Part 32
[00:53:44–00:55:28]
Synopsis
Matrix has commandeered a loader, and he drives the piece of construction equipment through the front windows of Surplus City to gain access. He hops out of the loader and Cindy follows him into the store.
Cindy pushes a shopping cart as Matrix walks ahead of her and tosses items into it—equipment vests, utility belts, a combat knife, swimming flippers. He moves behind the register and reaches under the counter in several spots‚ saying “C’mon, c’mon.” There’s a brief buzzing noise and a hidden door behind him slides open. Inside are racks upon racks of big guns and other serious munitions. Matrix selects a variety of guns and explosives, passing them to Cindy. He grabs a big boxy object off the wall, and Cindy asks, “What’s that?” “Rocket launcher,” he responds, and hands it to her. He says, “Go!” as she takes it back to the shopping cart and begins heading out of the secret room.
Analysis
The reveal of Matrix’s break-in idea is done in a panning close-up shot that allows the audience to gradually piece together what’s happening. We know that Matrix wants to get what’s inside the store, but we never saw him discussing specifically how he would do it. We cut directly from the wide shot of Surplus City to an extreme close-up on the front claws of the loader, accompanied by the sound of the powerful engine revving up. The camera pans up, past the dark mass of the loader, until we see the familiar “construction site yellow” frame, and then finally Matrix sitting at the controls. Then we get two quick extreme close-up shots of his hand slamming down some levers, and the machine lurches forward. Only now do we get a wider shot of the full machine moving; by this point the audience has likely pieced together his plan.
Now that we know what’s happening, the depiction of the crash into the store is shown in great detail from multiple angles. There are point-of view shots with the loader’s scoop framing the shot along the bottom. There are jostling, handheld, over-the-shoulder shots as Matrix approaches the barred windows of the store. The actual moment of impact is shot from inside the store, as we see Matrix’s machine shatter the glass and begin to knock over racks of merchandise. Next we return to an outside shot, this time a static shot from a low angle, showing the loader crash through the wall. Returning to the inside, we see that the loader has knocked out the front of the store in a remarkably clean fashion, with a black frame around the windows neatly falling over as the loader pushes into it. (Presumably as the set builder designed it to.)
Throughout the stunt, there’s been no music—just loud crashing and smashing sound effects. The sound effects go silent once the loader comes to a halt in the store, with one single late sound of a piece of metal settling to the floor punctuating the silence. Then, when Matrix hops out and his feet hit the floor, the musical score kicks in abruptly at full volume, keeping the energy level high.
The part where Cindy pushes around the shopping cart as Matrix fills it with military gear is very fun—it’s definitely got some Supermarket Sweep energy. Matrix’s tactical expertise is on display as he grabs just the right equipment he needs for the mission. He even knows enough to search for a hidden button behind the counter that will open a door to where the serious gear is stored. When he finds the secret room, we see him looking briefly across the rows of weapons, then we cut to a wide panning shot of the armory that follows his glance; there are literally dozens of guns in there.
Next we get two subsequent close-ups on Matrix and Cindy. In Matrix’s shot, he scans the room smoothly and carefully from one side to the other, as if he’s looking at and assessing each weapon methodically. In Cindy’s shot, she whispers, “Wow,” and her eyes dart around the room as if she’s trying to take everything in. The performance difference in these shots is a great way to subtly reinforce Matrix’s military expertise. And at the same time, Cindy works well as an audience surrogate, since her reaction likely matches what most audience members would do when confronted with a hidden armory. Finally, the introduction of the rocket launcher by name near the end of the segment is conspicuous—it strongly suggests that we’ll be seeing the weapon again.
